Our Towns Civic Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
850569508
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2404608747
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Improvement, Capacity Building N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$36,118
Expenses
$28,617
Assets
$598,595
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • MARK POTTS (CHAIR): $5,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The purpose of the foundation is to make the success of a renewable era more probable. Toward this end we will report on and share the stories of local innovators; distill and share the lessons of their successes (or failures); promote connections among like-minded people around the country, in virtual and real-world venues; encourage new journalistic models (and technologies) to cover local stories and their implication; and in other ways to help now-disconnected innovators and reformers realize that they are part of something larger.

What it reported doing in 2025

- continued reporting on civil-renewal efforts around the country, including through updates on the our towns civic foundation website, and its regular newsletter- keynote speaking roles, and panel-moderating roles, at numerous public and university events around the country. These ranged from South Dakota, with a state-government-sponsored statewide series of "civic engagement" lectures; to Florida, with a keynote role at a major event in which academics, local officials, insurance-industry officials had a first-ever meeting to combine plans for climate resilience; to California, which main-stage presentations on using digital tools for civic engagement; to boston, New York, and Washington dc, at forums and large-scale meetings.- strategic-advising services, on a volunteer basis, to major us foundations and academic institutions. These include the macarthur and knight foundations, and the american academy of arts and sciences.- speaking at events tied to the hbo movie our towns.- connecting innovators around the country, especially in this past year those involved in: local libraries; local community colleges; and local or statewide public-arts projects.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 77% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 42
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 49%; rating input score 49
  • Program expense ratio: 42.9%; rating input score 43
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20.8%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 20.92; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.5%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -42.1% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -49.5% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 49% of revenue deployed · 42.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $12K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $5K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 15 of 15 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 43/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.